There are many ways to categorize waste based on their traits. One way is to classify them as organic or inorganic waste.
The first of these types, organic waste, may sound like an oxymoron. If waste is taken to mean “unwanted or unusable material”, as the Oxford Dictionary puts it, how can organic matter ever be unusable in the ultimate sense? Doesn’t organic matter easily decompose, being used up to fuel various natural processes?
Yet, contrary to common expectations, organic waste can be harmful, rather than useful, both to the environment and humans, if not dealt with properly. The term “organic waste” refers to waste that is made of “organic matter”, which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, and methane. Examples of this would include food waste, paper, bones, and even humans ourselves.
Organic waste decomposes at a much more rapid rate than inorganic waste. Although this trait makes it seem innocuous, it is rather what causes the damage. Because organic waste decomposes quickly, it releases methane and organic acids at harmful rates. Methane is known to be 20 to 25 times more detrimental than carbon dioxide. (Environment Victoria, 2019) Organic acids, for their part, can affect soil fertility and local ecology in large concentrations. In addition, organic waste can foster the spread of diseases and fungi, such as Dengue fever or Taenia.
However, the harmful effects of organic waste can be dealt with relatively ease. For example, people can use a process called composting to control the decomposition of organic waste, so that its byproducts are converted right away into valuable substances, like nitrogen. Such substances, which are conducive to plant growth, can then be used to make fertilizers. Also, organic waste can be converted into “biomass,” a growing source of eco-friendly energy. Biomass, as its name suggests, takes advantage of the fact that all living things burn easily after death. Thus, organic-waste-turned-biomass can be burnt as fuel in the same way as coal but with a smaller footprint. Contrary to coal or fossil fuels, biomass is created from organisms that died more recently, thus causing no net change in atmosphere carbon levels, even when burned. (Renewable Resources Coalition, 2019)
On the other hand, inorganic waste is quite the opposite. These waste materials are derived from industrial origins or through non-natural processes. The most common examples include plastic, pesticides, and batteries.
Yet, the most prevalent–and also the most deleterious–is plastic. Corporate activity is directly interlinked with this problem. While glass and wood, relatively expensive, were primary containers for goods in the past, oil allowed plastic–a cheaper, lighter, and durable option–for corporations. While glass and wood had to be recollected due to their cost, plastic hadn’t. Consequently, plastic was easily discarded and more and more were manufactured.
As the supply skyrocketed, nations sought ways to deal with the increasing amount of plastic waste. Plastic was thus burnt or discarded into oceans or landfills. These proved extremely harmful, as the burning of plastic emitted harmful carcinogens including dioxin. Even when discarded into the ocean or land, plastic affected the toxicity of ocean water or groundwater, causing detrimental health effects to both humans and animals. Phthalates, BPA and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), all involved in the production of plastic, were found to entail a number of “adverse health effects,” such as male reproduction problems. (Swan, 2005) Most importantly, plastic causes suffocation or internal bleeding of marine animals that mistake plastic with prey.
Yet, efforts to convert plastic into degradable waste has recently gained momentum. Plastic that is degradable thanks to the aid of microbes have been recently discovered, and its efficiency has been proved by the World Economic Forum, which ranked the technology as one of the 10 most prospective technological breakthroughs of 2018 to 2019. (World Economic Forum, 2019) A group of Korean researchers have also created plastic bags that can be rapidly degraded. Still, cost seems to be a hindrance to the widespread use of such technology.
Pesticide is also a major contributor to pollution. As it is designated to wipe out a certain species, pesticides cause a huge void in the food chain, thus causing disruptions. These disruptions often put the very existence of other species at stake. Human lives are also threatened, as pesticide is rated as a major cause of ADHD, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, leukemia, and other lethal diseases according to the Pesticide Action Network UK. (Claydon, Claydon and Claydon, 2019)
Bibliography
Environment Victoria. (2019). Organic waste, green waste. Find out what you can do.. [online] Available at: https://environmentvictoria.org.au/resource/organic-waste/ [Accessed 19 Jul. 2019].
Swan S. H., et al. (2005). Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure. Environ. Health Perspect 113, 1056–1061
Renewable Resources Coalition. (2019). Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co. [online] Available at: https://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/biomass-energy-advantages-disadvantages/ [Accessed 19 Jul. 2019].
World Economic Forum. (2019). Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2019.. [online] Available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Top_10_Emerging_Technologies_2019_Report.pdf/ [Accessed 19 Jul. 2019]
Claydon, S., Claydon, S. and Claydon, S. (2019). Health Effects of Pesticides – Pesticide Action Network UK. [online] Pesticide Action Network UK. Available at: http://www.pan-uk.org/health-effects-of-pesticides/ [Accessed 19 Jul. 2019].
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